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Photographing outer space

Four years ago, friends Scott Lange and Nick Foster set out to photograph the sky. Since then, armed with an 8-inch telescope and a Canon DSLR camera, the amateur photographers have captured some incredible images of space and the night sky.

Photography is just a hobby for Lange, a pedi-cab driver and full-time student of astrophysics, and Foster, a mechanical engineer, but that hasn't stopped them from creating some mind-blowing pictures.

Lange and Foster share their work on their website and self-published a book last December. They are currently raising money for a trip to capture the perfect photograph of the Milky Way galaxy. Learn more about their "Operation Milky Way" project on their Kickstarter page.

Credit: Scott Lange/Nick Foster

Lagoon nebula

Learning to photograph space took a lot of trial and error, Lange said, but eventually the duo figured out a method.

Credit: Scott Lange/Nick Foster

Crescent moon featuring Earth shine

The telescope is fixed on the object in space that they want to shoot. They can then track the object and take several long-exposures with an attached camera. Finally, these multiple exposures are combined and cleaned-up with special software.

Credit: Scott Lange/Nick Foster

Black Rock Road with telescope, Arizona

Lange and Foster must seek out locations far from any light pollution, such as Death Valley, and this western Arizona desert.

Credit: Scott Lange/Nick Foster

Trifid nebula

"It is super exciting to see," Lange told CBS. "You are staring at the sky and it is completely dark and you can't see much, and then you take a 90-second exposure and there is a galaxy sitting there - that never really gets old."